Nigerians In Diaspora React To Supreme Court’s Imo Election Review Panel

PDP Diaspora Initiative, a US-based organization of diaspora members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), has commended the Supreme Court of Nigeria for the recent establishment of a panel to review the court’s January 14, 2020 judgment, which sacked the duly elected Governor Emeka Ihedioha and replaced him with the candidate of the All Progressives’ Congress (APC), who came fourth in that March 9, 2019, gubernatorial election in Imo State.

In a statement issued to the media through the organization’s National Publicity Secretary Chidi Igwe, PDP Diaspora Initiative thanked all lovers of democracy around the world who have joined their voices in absolute condemnation of the injustice done to the people of Imo State by the Supreme Court through that decision.

“When we issued our public call for the court to set up a panel to review that decision, we knew it was the right thing to do in order to restore the people’s confidence in the judicial system,” PDP Diaspora Initiative Founder and National Chair Hon. Victoria Pamugo said.

“We want to commend the court for listening to the voice of the people especially in the face of the rising condemnation of this act of injustice in Imo,” Hon. Pamugo said.

“But the whole world is watching. There is no democratic country in the world where almost one year after a gubernatorial election, all of a sudden, the winner of the election is removed and then replaced with the candidate who came fourth in the election,” she said.

“This can never happen in a real democratic state,” she said.

“The court should stand for justice and should not allow itself to be unduly influenced by the ruling party, APC,” Hon. Pamugo said.

“But what we do not want is for the Supreme Court to set up a panel just for the purpose of setting up a panel – a guise or camouflage to rubber-stamp a clear APC agenda to grab power by crooked means, even when the people of the state rejected them completely through the ballot box,” she said.

“We are calling on the members of the panel to grow some backbones and stand up for justice and resist this obvious act of encroachment, power grab and over-reach by the ruling political party, APC.”

“The court must restore its own public image and restore justice in Imo State by reinstating Governor Emeka Ihedioha, whom the people of Imo State selected to be their governor through their own vote,” Hon. Pamugo said.

PDP Diaspora Initiative is a registered non-profit organization based in the United States of America, with members from many countries, including Austria, Canada, Germany, Japan, Kenya, Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States of America.

For more information, visit www.pdpdiasporainitiative.com.

Signed:

Chidi Igwe

National Publicity Secretary

PDP Diaspora Initiative